


Bones and Ash

by AmethystLover



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Magical Realism, Multi, Other, Reader-Insert, Russian Mythology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-09 05:08:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 19,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1970133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmethystLover/pseuds/AmethystLover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Reader-Insert fic with a Slow Burn Natasha Romanov romantic relationship.</p><p>Though the gender identity of The Reader is generally presented as femme, people of all genders are welcome to read.</p><p>This is a Magical Realism AU based around Russian Folklore.</p><p>Set after Marvel movies The Avenger's and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.</p><p>Completely unrelated to Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wyrd Times

**Author's Note:**

> As stated in the summary, this is a Natasha Romanov/Reader romance fic. Your name will be represented as "___________".  
> Your gender identity and sexual/romantic orientation is your own. I don't know how many chapters this fic may be, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a Slow Build. And it might take me some time to update, so please be patient.

You really weren't fond of the idea of staying so late at work on such a cold winter night. But the promise of being able to see the new, mysterious exhibit before it opened to the public proved to be all too tempting. Well, that and the leftover cake from one of your coworker’s birthday celebration was still in the break room.

 

You had just been promoted from unpaid intern to assistant docent at The Vera V. Yezhov Russian Depository Museum of Art and Folklore. Also popularly known as the WYRD Museum. When the museum was first opened to the public, news publishers decided to turn the name into an acronym of sorts similar the how The Museum of Modern Art was shortened to The MoMA. Apparently the original text was supposed to say The VVYRD Museum, but there was a printing error with the font so the two V’s were close enough to be mistakenly read as a W. From then on the name stuck.

 

The Museum in its early exhibitions was something of a curiosity during its time with its galleries full of “exotic” Russian relics and superstitious objects. Then around when the Cold War just burgeoning into the lives of American New Yorkers, the amount of visitors were abruptly cut. There was even rumor of a covert investigation of the Museum when tension was at its peak, but nothing was ever made official.

 

But now it was the 21st century, and slowly but surely The WYRD Museum was regaining the interest of the public. Especially with its newest exhibition called “Korochun: Death and Rebirth”. It was based around the Russian winter solstice where during the shortest days of the year when malicious spirits are said to be more prominent. It was a kind of desperate act on the part of the museum to attract younger visitors and hopefully benefit from the surging popularity of vampires and werewolves in media.

 

You, however, were just excited that in your transition from a poor intern who constantly was told to fetch coffee or to proofread this text or another; you were finally learning something new. Sure, you had read and researched plenty during college and after graduation on world folklore, but you had a constant want for knowledge. And as the assistant docent for the Korochun exhibit, you were certainly going to be busy.

 

As the night wore on and you finished various paperwork along with a slice of cake you heard a knock on the break room door. It was one of the museum night guards you were friends with. You smiled while trying to discretely brush off the remaining cake crumbs on your lap.

 

“Hey, Ivan.”

 

“Hey, _____________. Long night?”

 

“Yeah, I’m just finishing up. I’ll be out of here in about five more minutes.”

 

“Better hurry, I’m about to shut down all the lights. You’ve no idea how creepy this place gets in the dark.”

 

Ivan smiled while he mock shivered and you softly chuckled. Ever since you had started working there he had been a kind guide to you; showing you the ins and outs of the museum, who would be good coworkers and who would be the one to steal from the break room fridge.

 

You had a feeling that he might have a crush on you, being that you were both two of the younger employees fresh out of college. You had been thinking up various ways to let him down easy over the past few days. It wasn't that his crush bothered you or anything, he’d always been gentlemanly towards you. But that was wherein the problem laid. He was a gentleman.

 

You were primarily attracted only to gentlewomen.

 

As you were considering different options on how to bring up the subject, you noticed that the two of you had been staring off in silence for moment or two. While you were seemingly looking over the paperwork he was most certainly looking at you with his soft, blue eyes. The both of you snapped out of reverie around the same time. Just as you were about to say something, Ivan interrupted.

 

“Hey, I know that you've been meaning to check out that new exhibit. How about before you go I could meet up with you there? I’ll leave those lights on for last.”

 

“Thanks, Ivan. I’ll see you in a few, alright?”

 

He gave a quick nod and left to start his shift, whistling a tune under his breath. You sighed, looks like tonight would have to be the night. And you were really hoping that you could check out the exhibit before it came to that kind of awkward conversation. Well, Ivan was a nice guy and it seemed to merely be a case of puppy love, you were pretty certain that he would take it in his stride and you could still be friends.

 

You dallied in the break room a few minutes more than you should have, you couldn't help but be a little anxious. As you grabbed your bag and turned off the light you resigned yourself to disappointment and a frigid trek back to your apartment. As you continued down the hall towards the Korochun exhibit you couldn't help but walk a little quicker. Ivan was right, the shadows that were cast against antiques and relics made them seem grotesque and unnerving.

 

 The light of the last exhibit room was only a few feet away when you paused. You could have sworn that you had just heard something. You listened a little closer and could just make out the mutterings of a voice. It was coming from the Korochun exhibit. Since Ivan did say he would meet you there you were ready to brush it off as the young man talking to himself.

 

You came closer to the archway leading to the exhibit until you paused again. There was a voice that certainly sounded like it belonged to Ivan, but then there was another voice that you didn't recognize. You couldn't make out any of the words that were being said. Something didn’t feel right about this.

 

The WYRD Museum surely had been gaining visitors and monetary donations, but still, the night watch was sparse. Only Ivan should have been on shift at this time. You stepped a little closer and peered around the corner of the archway.

 

There was Ivan standing with his back towards you. You were about to call out to him and walk over when you saw another figure nearby. He was strangely dressed in green and gold, and while you couldn't make out his face, something inside told you to stick to the shadows of the hall. You flinched when you heard a sharp voice, Ivan’s voice, now devoid of its usual carefree cadence address the figure.

 

“I’ll say it one more time. Step away from the artifact.”

 

You realized that Ivan was hold out his stun tazer, his hands shaking slightly. The other man chuckled and the sound itself was enough to churn your stomach. It was only at that moment that you realized you recognized that man’s face.

 

It may have been several months since the incident, but that face was still all over the news. The man who led the alien invasion that the City was still reeling from. The war criminal.

 

“Loki,” you trembled out his name.

 

It was after that when all hell broke loose.


	2. Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's slow going, but please bear with me. It's about to get interesting.

“I’ll say it one more time. Step away from the artifact.”

You realized that Ivan was hold out his stun tazer, his hands shaking slightly. The other man chuckled and the sound itself was enough to churn your stomach. It was only at that moment that you realized you recognized that man’s face.

It may have been several years since the incident, but that face was still all over the news. The man who led the alien invasion that the City was still reeling from. The war criminal.

“Loki,” you trembled out his name.

It was after that when all hell broke loose.

 

The man’s form seemed to glimmer and warp as he reached out his hand over the glass case in the middle of the exhibition room. When the illusion has settled Loki was wearing green and gold armored regalia with a long horned crown.

The glass suddenly became covered in frost and with a simple tap the entirety of the case shattered. The noise startled Ivan into action. The tazer shot out towards Loki and just when it was about to hit him, the man vanished.

Only to reappear behind Ivan.

You screamed as a spear-like scepter materialized in Loki’s hand and viciously cut through Ivan’s back. His body sunk to the floor.

Loki inclined his head towards you, a dark grin on his face.

“It seems I have an audience.”

Tears streamed down your face as you whimpered, but Loki seemed to be more interested in what lay among the shattered glass inside the case than you. He spoke again at length, his voice calm, almost melodic as he strutted away. But you couldn't make out what he was saying, your eyes were focused on the sound of ragged breath escaping from Ivan’s face down body.

Your legs gave out beneath you as you tried to take wavering steps towards him.  Loki didn’t even glance your way as you continued your way to Ivan, crawling on hands and knees.

“Ivan. Ivan.”

You wept as you reached him. Your hands stretched out but you were too shocked to touch him, they simply hovered as his blood spread over white marble. The side of his face was pressed down, you were able to see his lips frantically moving. Trying to form words but his voice was silent.

Loki continued to pontificate with his arms spread out as if in defiance against heaven.

“Then all of the Realms will see who is the mightiest. And I will be king of it all!”

“Run, _____________. You have to run.” You barely heard Ivan speak over and over again as he rattled out breath after breath.

You clutched at his hand and shook your head, “No. Not leaving you.”

Suddenly, you realized that Loki had stopped talking while you and Ivan were whispering to each other. You looked up to Loki’s face as he gave you a calculating glance.

“Now, I do enjoy the desperate drama going on over there, but I must continue on with the ritual.”

He mock smiled at you as if graciously asking for permission, and then turned back to the case. It was in that moment you weren’t sure what came over you. It was a kind of abject rage that you had never felt before. Loki took something small from the sifted glass and you started fumbling to stand. He lifted it to his lips, murmuring low like he was actually speaking to the object. You took a step forward.

“You bastard!”

Interrupted, he coldly cocked his head to the side as if considering the buzz of a fly; and that’s when you did something really risky.

It wasn’t until your high heel shoe had struck the back of Loki’s head and harmlessly clattered to the ground that you realize you had actually thrown something.

As he turned towards you there was a kind of dark fire in his eyes.

“You little nuisance. How dare you!”

 The sharp edge of the spear glowed an electric blue in Loki’s hands, its point aimed at your face.

You braced yourself and closed your eyes for the inevitable pain to come.

There was the sharp sound of pure energy being fired at you.

Then a resounding explosion rocked your body to the floor.

After the initial shock of banging your head against marble subsided, you looked up as saw the back of a strong male form in front of you. For a moment you thought that Ivan had somehow gotten up and protected you, but then you saw a glint of something metallic in the man’s hand.

Something round and emblazoned in bold colors.

A voice boomed in front of you.

“What the hell are you doing here, Loki.”

The god in question merely gave a sly smile and chuckled.

“I was wondering what was taking you so long.”

“Sorry, traffic around here is a killer.”

“No matter, soon you will all see.”

“Well, so far it’s nothing much to look at.”

Loki glowered at him and clenched his fists.

Captain America quickly spoke into his ear piece, “Widow, Hawkeye; get these civilians out of here.”

“Already on it.”

You started at a voice behind you replied and grabbed at your shoulders, lifting you to your feet.

In a blur of black and red you were then led back to the archway by the hall. In shock and walking with bare feet against the floor, you stumbled in the person’s grip. A strong arm reached out and lifted you into a stable stance. As the resounding clang of metal meeting metal and crackling energy whizzed around you, it was only then that you dare to look beside you.

And there she was, the infamously exceptional spy, The Black Widow.

Once you reached the hallway she set down on the ground against the wall.

She looked deep into your eyes and made sure your gaze was fixed on her.

“Stay here.”

Her voice was solid and commanding and your mind clung to it as an anchor. You nodded and gulped in shuddering breaths.

“Clint.”

She addressed the man next to you who had somehow dragged Ivan over and laid him upright against the wall.

The sharp eyed man solemnly shook his head.

“Doesn’t look good.”

As he reached into his belt and quickly applied pressure to Ivan’s wound, your eyes filled up with tears.

Ivan was starkly pale and unconscious.

“Get in positon and keep an eye until the medics arrive.”

“Can do.”

The Black Widow charged back into the exhibition room; gun drawn and a hard, determined look in her eyes. While they had been taking care of you it seemed as if Loki had made duplicates of himself which had surrounded Captain America. He was just about to be struck in the back with the spear when a gunshot rung out. The Loki doubles abruptly vanished. Captain America barely seemed out of breath as she walked up to him, her gun trained on Loki who had a small dent in his horned helmet.

“Ah, if it isn’t Miss Red Ledger.”

She kept her stance and gave him a withering stare that would have sent any other man running.

“How did you get here, Loki? You’re supposed to be in Asgard.”

He grinned with all of his white teeth.

“It doesn’t matter how I got here. What does matter however, is what will be coming next.”

Captain America took a step forward, shield ready.

“Why? Expecting company?”

“In a sense. But really, what a poor welcome this has been.”

Without warning there was the sound like jet was flying overhead. The large glass windows of the museum shattered apart as something literally flew in trailing a roar of noise. A metallic tinged voice rung out.

“Sorry I’m late. What’d I miss?”

Hovering there near the high arched ceiling was Iron Man.

Captain America gave him a quick acknowledgement.

“Nothing much yet, Stark.”

So far, none of the present Avengers had let their guard down around the green and gold god. Despite that, even with the garish entrance made by Iron Man; Loki seemed to be even more carefree. His bitter laugh echoing into the night.

“Well then, now we can properly begin!”

A dark and frigid chill began to emanate from the previously forgotten object in his hand. It pulsated with shadows; all present were filled with unease and dread.

“Loki, put that down.”

Captain America’s legs tensed, ready to charge. At the hero’s words Loki gave a guileless look.

“Since you asked so nicely.”

He raised his arm above his head and before anyone could react he smashed the object against the ground. A dark light flashed and from your spot in the hall all the breath was stolen from your lungs as a strange, ice laced wind whipped around. You blinked rapidly as your eyes slowly cleared from the after images of light.

A hush had fallen over the museum as thick blankets of snow wafted on from outside. You could fuzzily make out the form of the man next to you with his bow and arrow tautly drawn. The inside of the room was just beginning to settle, when a cacophonous shout resounded.

“What the hell is that!”

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd also like to thank everyone for their views and kind kudos. They are much appreciated!


	3. The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your kudos and your time reading this random idea that I dreamed up! Soon, all will be made clear.

A hush had fallen over the museum as thick blankets of snow wafted on from outside. You could fuzzily make out the form of the man next to you with his bow and arrow tautly drawn. The inside of the room was just beginning to settle, when a cacophonous shout resounded.

“What the hell is that!”

 

Out of the haze of snow you were able to make out two forms taking several quick steps back to where you were. The archer next to you spoke quickly into his earpiece.

“Nat. Cap. What’s your status?”

Captain America’s voice cut through.

“Uh, not quite sure yet.”

Hawkeye’s fists clenched and unclenched around his bow.

“That doesn’t help me. Care to shed a little more light on that?”

 “Great idea. Tony? Can you put a spotlight on it?”

“Sure thing. Hope whatever that is, is ready for the limelight.”

A starkly bright light illuminated the exhibit from the high ceiling and you were able to make out that the two forms in front of you were indeed Black Widow and Captain America. Both of their gaze was fixed on something in the center of the room.

Hawkeye stood up from his crouched position, his eyes darted about.

“Cap, you’re in my line of sight. I can’t make it out. Is it Loki?”

“Nope, definitely not Loki.”

Black Widow intoned as she once again took a stance and aimed.

In front of her was something. Some that was steadily growing taller and taller. You heard the sound of snapping and crunching that made your stomach turn. Through the drifting flakes of snow it was hard to make out; white against white. But in front of you and the Avengers was a slowly forming group of bare bones. Piece by piece the vertebrae came together, then the ribs, and then its long arms. By the time the final piece, the skull, was set the skeletal figure was a head taller than the Captain.

Finally formed, it seemed to look around the room with its empty eye sockets with its jaws chattering together. The chattering steadily turned louder and louder until you all could make out the distinct sound.

“Is it _laughing_?”

Captain America sounded incredulous of both what he was seeing and hearing.

“Well, it’s not the weirdest thing we’ve seen.”

Black Widow’s voice was flippant but finger ghosted over the trigger of her gun. Her sharp eyes betraying calculating thoughts of all different possibilities, contingency plans, and possible escape routes. The skeleton paused in its manic laugher to specifically eye the Avenger’s in front of him as if only noticing just then. The chilled air hung heavy with tension as each party considered their next move.

“Okay, this is boring.”

From his position by the ceiling Iron Man leveled his armored arm to line up with the bone skull.

“Hi, Chuckles.”

A concentrated blast of bright heat shot from his arm. The laser hit dead on, knocking the skull off and the rest of the skeleton crumbled around it.

“Bye, Chuckles.”

Iron Man swooped down to land on the floor between Black Widow and the Captain. The trio peered over the smoking pile of bones and ash.

You let out a sigh of relief but next to you Hawkeye seemed even tenser than before, his bow still drawn as he spoke out.

 “Does anyone think that was too easy?”

“Don’t spoil it. Don’t you think that after everything that has been thrown at us, the universe owes us a little “too easy”?”

Iron Man grumbled as his armored face mask lifted. The rest of the Avenger’s nodded at his quip but none of them backed away from the pile. Suddenly the winter wind whipped up again, specifically swirling around bones faster and faster until they lifted off the ground. That sickening snapping and crunching sound was heard again as even quicker than before the bones formed into the towering skeleton once again. The loud cackling resumed from its jaws which were now rapidly taking on a frosted semblance of flesh. The pale skin tightly covered the skeleton in a few seconds. It was a male skeleton.

“ _Now this_ is the weirdest thing we’ve seen.”

Black Widow took the shot, the echoing sound causing you to wince.

The bullet dug itself into the man’s left shoulder, yet he seemed to be unfazed as his bony fingers bloodlessly searched it out and cast the metal slug clattering to the floor. Long white whiskers of hair started to grow from him while a cloth-like cover of frost and ice enfolded over his body. A concentrated swirl of snow wrapped over his and an in a moment he was holding a long, jagged icicle-like sword. And finally, a pair of ice blue eyes blinked out at the gathering.

You choked out a sound of fear in a confused realization of recognition. You had seen that creature somewhere before. Captain America’s head sharply turned to where you were, his eyes widened. He grunted as the ice sword made heavy contact against his shield.

“Clint! I thought I told you to get the civilians out of here!”

“Sorry Cap’n. Evac says there’s some kind of blizzard surrounding the museum and they can’t get close.”

“Just our luck!”

He gritted his teeth and pushed up hard against the sword forcing the wielder to disengage. It was in that moment during the confusion that you got up from your crouched position behind Hawkeye. You were about to do something very risky, again. While the archer’s focus was on the ensuing battle, you took a deep breath and started to run. And you ran right into the fray. You could hear Hawkeye cursing and calling out for you to stop, but you didn’t until you reached a display case in the other side of the exhibit. Thankfully, during the fight the case had been knocked over and you didn’t have the break the glass yourself. Your fingers still got cut as you scrabbled through it to grab an item that fit snuggly and smoothly in your palm.  

 Then in a dizzying moment the breath was forced out of your lungs as a tight grip grabbed you and forced your back against the wall.

“The hell do you think you’re doing!”

You started up at the red haired woman with intense eyes as she crowded your space. You could feel the warmth of her breath against your face. You gulped as you attempted your best to look resolute in front of such a beautiful and infamous woman.

“I’m ____________, and I’m trying to help.”

You flinched as a loud crash coupled by an explosion sounded not too far away. The Black Widow turned, forcing you even further back against the wall and fired off two shots into the confusion. The force of her precise shots caused the ice man to falter and stumble for a moment which gave Iron Man an opportunity to lift their foe off the ground and then drop him. The man only seemed to gain a few scratches even from such a height as he rose up with sword ready. She turned back to you with bared teeth and you couldn’t help but think her as simultaneously frightening and enchanting. Flakes of snow were tangled and contrasted wonderfully within Black Widow’s hair. Her harsh voice snapped you out of your brief reverie.

“If you’re going to help us, you better do something now.”

She turned again and fired off another shot with one arm reaching behind to protect you from a particularly strong gust of snow. You nodded and hoped your voice didn’t shake.

“Just follow my lead.”

And with that you ran into the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone can guess who this skeletal man is from Russian legend then you'll win!  
> Win what?  
> You'll win the satisfaction of knowing something!  
> And knowledge is power.


	4. The Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read and left kudos for this story! Any comments and criticisms would be completely welcome. Thanks again, you all are an inspiration.

“If you’re going to help us, you better do something now.”

She turned again and fired off another shot with one arm reaching behind to protect you from a particularly strong gust of snow. You nodded and hoped your voice didn’t shake.

“Just follow my lead.”

And with that you ran into the storm.

 

The winds whipped wildly around you as ran into the center of the conflict. At that moment it didn’t matter that you could barely see through the blinding white. It didn’t matter that you were barefooted in a seemingly unending drift of snow. At that moment all that mattered was no more people were hurt. You thought back to Ivan and his fervent whispers for you to run as his blood coated the floor. You grit your teeth and pushed forward.

You remembered how kind Ivan was to you when you first started working at the WYRD museum. How he taught you bits of information about the Russian artifacts and paintings that only a child from an immigrant family would know. How proud he was of his job and helping his first generation grandparents get by. You even thought about his little crush on you and how excited he was when you said you would meet him. He deserved so much more than this. He deserved more than the pain and the cold of this unimaginable situation. He deserved to be happy. You wanted him to be happy and live and have a family. You could almost see it.

Though what you couldn’t see was a slick patch of ice in your path.

Before you even registered that you were falling, a strong arm shot out from behind and steadied you. Pressed flush against a warm body it felt as though your cold skin tingled even trough your clothes where they touched. A warm breath ghosted past your ear.

“You alright?”

The Black Widow. You had almost forgotten that she was there; a silent presence guarding you. Your body shivered at this woman’s physical strength and strength of resolve. You were almost certain that if this didn’t work, this battering storm would kill you. And yet here was this woman who had battled countless enemies and possibly countless internal demons, she was here to make sure that you wouldn’t fall in the snow. You broke yourself out of your reverie and nodded.

“Yeah, I just need to get in close.”

“How close?”

The Black Widow’s words were almost ripped from her as a frigid gust blew past. The temperature continued to drop. From what you could guess at a distance it seemed like frost was starting to build up on Captain America’s shield. Iron Man’s armor was faring better, but both of the Avengers seemed a little more worn down than before, their moves a little sluggish. And it seemed that no matter how many times they took down the skeletal man, he simply reassembled again and again.

You turned back to the Black Widow, unable to keep your teeth from chattering.

“I n-need to get as cl-close as p-possible. Face to f-face.”

By some sheer strength of will, the Black Widow did not stutter into her ear piece.

“Clint. Have the EMTs gotten in yet? I need you at my location now.”

You could barely hear Hawkeye’s reply over the howling wind.

“They’re here now. I’m on my way.”

You clutched your arms around your chest, trying to preserve warmth as the two of you waited.

“W-we need to do this now. What are w-we waiting for?”

You tried to put as much urgency in your voice as you could but the Black Widow only gave you a side glance.

“____________, you need to get close, right? Face to face.”

You nodded, startled at her use of your name. If she had noticed your shock, she made no mention as she continued.

“Though you had pretty good aim with that shoe earlier, the wind has picked up too much. If you plan on throwing that object at him, Hawkeye is our better chance.”

At that moment the man in question appeared at your side. A light gathering of snow dusted his head and shoulders as if he had been standing on one spot for too long.

The Black Widow held out her hand and without any question in your mind you handed the bright blue object in your hand to her. She looked down at her hand and raised an eyebrow at you, and muttered something in Russian. Something about an “eye”?

She then looked at Hawkeye and they seemed to communicate without words. He quickly took out one of his arrows and a thin strand of wire. The Black Widow looped he wire through the small hole at the top of the object and tied it to the shaft. Hawkeye quickly notched the weighted arrow in his bow and nodded to her. You simply blinked as what you had felt like what was _your_ genius plan had suddenly become _their_  genius plan and was far more effective. It made you feel a little useless.

At Hawkeye’s nod the Black Widow fired several shots into the skeletal, frost man. Wild-eyed, he turned to face your group with a growl; then in the next moment a weighted arrow pierced his left eye. A resounding noise emanated from him, shaking your bones as you crumpled to the ground. Shaking the building.

A warm body covered you as the wind picked up as the man twirled faster and faster, clutching at his face and trying to dislodge the arrow. Faster and faster until he levitated off the ground and with a sick crunch and squelch he removed the arrow from his socket. Steam rose from his face and hands as they object you had picked up worked its magic. The arrow clattered to the ground as the still steaming man curled further and further in of himself. Another roar of pain from him shook you down, and then he was gone. The wind settled itself into a still and silent hush. The snow stopped pouring into the room. And as you looked up all you could see were red hair and even redder lips close to your face and the Black Widow straightened and helped you up off the floor. There was a warm, tingling moment where both of your eyes met and a look of relief passed. All you could think was: Safe, Warm, Home. And you could almost swear that these thoughts passed through her mind as well. And then her guard was up again, her eyes almost as frigid as the snow.

She began to shout orders into her ear piece as agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. began to swarm the room. She called for the Avengers to immediately assemble at Stark’s Tower and go through debriefing. You fuzzily noted that she also called for a medic. Why would the Black Widow call for a medic, you wondered. She wasn’t hurt at all. It didn’t seem like any of the Avenger’s had major injuries. So why had she called- oh. OH. As you sank to the floor once again, black spots blinking in and out in front of your eyes; you realized that she called the medic for you. The black spots crowded over your vision, multiplying like a cancer until everything was covered in darkness. You were in a deep pit of darkness and then you knew nothing else.


	5. Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up and suddenly you're an Avenger now. Good luck!

As you began to stir from sleep, you could just make out the sound of your name being called, as if it was from a distance. You opened your eyes and the blurry forms of several people staring down at you came into focus. You slowly raised your head from the comfort of the pillow and realized with a sudden start that none of the people around your bed were Ivan. You recognized the Avengers who had saved you from that skeletal frost-man, as well as the rest of the team from the television news stations. There was also a person there who you didn’t recognize at all.

A clipped, mechanical voice rang out through the room, “Mr. Stark, _________ is awake and according to scans there is no brain damage apparent.”

“Thanks Jarvis, I’ll take it from here,” the man to your right stated. Tony Stark, Iron Man, was smiling as he looked at you but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to address you with a question but you interrupted.

“Where’s Ivan?” your voice did not tremble because in a sense you already knew the answer. The smile and all the bright confidence seemed to deflate from Tony. The room was eerily silent except for the beep and whir of the monitor machines around you.

It was Natasha who took action after that, she reached down and gently held your hand that had been clutching at the sheets. Through the whirl of grief and turmoil that your mind was in, the warmth of her hand strangely anchored you to the present moment. She looked into your eyes and it made you wonder if the compassion you saw there was genuine or faked. She was a spy after all. A spy notoriously known for manipulation, disguise, and trickery. But in that moment you didn’t care much about anything, so you gave her a chance and listened as Natasha spoke.

“Ms. __________, we need you to tell us about everything you know about what happened last night.”

It took you a moment to adequately reply as you tried to sort all your thoughts together. You started from the beginning of the night where Ivan had just come into the office to check on you. When you reached the part where Loki appeared you heard the large man in the back, Thor, noted quietly, “Loki is still under guard in Asgard. It is impossible it was my brother.” Natasha turned and leveled him with a glare for interrupting you and the blonde man relented back into silence.

When you finished your account, a heavy despondency seemed to settle over the group. Captain America, Steve, straightened his shoulders and put on a kind face.

“Ms. _________, thank you so much for you time. We’ll see to it that everything will be sorted out,” with that he turned and opened the door to exit the room and a few Avengers shuffled behind him.

For some reason the sight of the man who had saved so many lives and has been idolized as a symbol of justice turn his back on you, it sent hot anger rising through your body.

“So that’s it then?” you sneered. “All of a sudden this- this situation sweeps into my life and you expect me to just go back home?”

The muscles in Steve’s back twitched as he paused in the door way but he did not turn back to look at you. The man you did not recognize approached him, put a hand on his shoulder and murmured something in his ear.

Captain America turned to reply to the man, “It doesn’t work like that, _Bucky_.”

Tony interrupted the moment, “Against my better judgment, and we all know how good my judgment is here…” Natasha rolled her eyes as he continued, “why not let her in on this?”

“She’s a civilian!” Steve retorted, his mouth set into a thin line.

“So? We involve civilians all the time! Or do you not remember aliens swarming down the block?” Tony replied.

Someone in the corner of the room spoke up, “He actually might have a point.” Bruce Banner calmly continued, “She may know something about what happened that we’re missing.” Tony nodded at Bruce and gave Steve a smug look.

“I for one agree with Steve. We shouldn’t get her involved,” Natasha said, and your heart sunk a little.

You piped up into the conversation that was swirling around you but never directly addressed you, “As much as I love being talked about like I’m not here…” the sound of your voice caused the others to quiet. “I think I know what’s going on and I know I can help you like I did before at the museum.” Steve gave you a pointed look but stayed silent as you continued. “Besides, why can’t I have a chance to avenge someone dear to me?”

“She has a point,” Clint said as he shrugged and Steve gave a frustrated sigh.

“I still don’t like this,” he shook his head as he walked out of the room and the man named Bucky trailed after.

Tony’s bright smile came back full force, “Looks like you wormed your way in, kid! Welcome to the Avengers.” He winked at you and put an arm around Bruce’s shoulder to steer them both out of the room.

Thor approached you, “Thank you, Ms. __________. I hope you’ll be able to help us clear Loki’s name.” Clint gave a derisive snort and Thor looked sheepish. “Well, as much as it can be cleared in this instance,” he quietly continued and gave you a quick pat on the shoulder. After he had left the room it was only you, Clint, and Natasha. The both of them had unreadable looks on their face and you started to feel slightly uncomfortable as they seemed to communicate with each other without words again.

“You really have no idea what you’re getting into,” Natasha’ words hurt but you stayed firm and didn’t look away from her calculating eyes. She seemed searching for something with in you as she stared and when she got up you weren’t sure if she had found what she was looking for or not. She was the last to exit the room and before the door closed you could hear her say, “Rest up, _________. Ivan’s funeral is in two days.” And with that you were left to your own thoughts and you wondered if Natasha was right about everything. Did you really know what you were doing? No. That was a given. But as sure as hell you were going to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone for your kind comments and kudos! I adore all of you!


	6. Needle

The next day in Stark Tower you began researching what you could through JARVIS’ vast database on the incident at the Museum. You reviewed the security tapes from that night, and every time Ivan came on screen you grit your teeth. You refused to fast forward through the scene of his death. You refused to cry even though you knew none of the Avengers would think less of you if you did. Ivan’s funeral was tomorrow, and as a point of bitter pride you would force yourself not to cry then either.

No, you wouldn’t cry. Not until he was avenged.

As you reviewed scene after scene of all different angles, your eyes began to sting from keeping them open too long. What were you missing? It was confirmed through further communication between Thor and Asgard that Loki was indeed still under close guard. There had been no attempt of break outs or change in Loki’s behavior. It was commented, that to a point the green god was rather miffed that someone or something was going about with his face and causing all kinds of mischief. Loki stated to the effect that he would have rather “caused the mischief himself”.

You rewound the video to start from the point where the Not-Loki put his fist through the glass display, when a slim hand reached out from beside you to pause it. You turned to glare at whomever dared to interrupt you, but were surprised to find Natasha meeting your glare with a soft look.

“_________, you should take a break.”

In her hand she had a steaming cup of hot chocolate which almost seemed as tempting as the spy herself.

Stark Tower itself was well insulated despite the winter weather; and Tony made it his pride to have the Avengers (plus you) to have any comfort they wanted. With that, he had even had his people pack up what they deemed necessary from your apartment and transferred to your new quarters there. You also suspected that he had somehow updated all of your electronics, including your smartphone, in some way.

You sighed and shook your head. Your glare had lessened into a look which seemed more tired than anything else.

“Thanks Ms. Romanov, but I really need to finish this before tomorrow.”

One of Natasha’s eyebrows quirked up at your formality. You noticed the unspoken laugh twitching at the corner of her lips and you suddenly felt very self-conscious as you stuttered.

“I- I mean, Captain America calls me Ms. ________. So, I thought…you know, respectfully-”

“Respect and formality is Steve’s thing. And that’s pretty much only because of _when_ he’s from,” Natasha smirked and set down the mug on the touch keypad.

You made a quick note in your mind about how you wouldn’t want to get on Tony’s bad side if that spilled all of his gadgets; and then you found yourself bodily penned in by the infamous spy.

Natasha continued to speak as her hands were braced on either side of your body trapping you between her and the table.

“And respectfully, I say you need a break.”

Her warm body pressed in a little closer; causing you, wide eyed, to lean back a little to regain the illusion of personal space. And within the span of what seemed like a second to you as your mind whirled hotly about in confusion, Natasha had pulled away and walked toward one of the windows with her back to you.

In that moment you realized that your mouth had been hanging open for a little longer than appropriate and quickly closed it.

**What. Was. That.**

You remembered back to the other day when you had first woken in Stark Tower. Natasha had initially refused to let you be in on part of the team. Her words had been harsh and cold and you had assumed that the red haired woman just didn’t like you. Really though, she was a professional spy who for most of her life had killed and lied for a living. And there were already numerous rumors connecting her in having a relationship with at least one of the Avengers. She could have her pick of multitudes of heroic figures far more accomplished than you. For goodness sake, you worked at a _museum_!

As your body and mind calmed you came to the conclusion that the situation had been a joke on your part. Or just a peculiar way Natasha was accustomed to getting her points across? Either way, Natasha was simply looking out the window. She had left the cup of hot chocolate behind on the table. You decided that a five minute break wouldn’t hurt your progress that much as you picked up the drink and savored its flavor.

You didn’t address Natasha again, and neither did she address you as you set the empty cup back on the table. You turned back to the paused video with a fresh outlook. It was in that moment as you reviewed the video again that you noticed something. You slid your finger over the touch pad and asked JARVIS to connect you to Tony. Surprisingly enough it was the calm voice of Bruce Banner who answered instead.

“Hey, _________. Tony’s busy working on the suit again so he told me to answer. Did you find anything?”

“Maybe,” you replied, “I was just wondering; did the SHEILD agents find anything unusual among the debris at the museum. Specifically where Loki, or well, the one who looked like Loki was standing.”

“Huh, let me look into that.”

You heard some rustling and then an image came upon your screen and you heard Burce’s voice again.

“Yeah, _________, besides the damage to the surrounding artifacts there was one object noted to be the one which Loki, er, Not-Loki was holding before he smashed it.”

On the screen there was and image of broken shards of something. You swiped your fingers over the touch pad and the broken shards reassembled themselves into a whole object.

“An egg?”

You nearly jumped when you heard Natasha’s voice so close behind you.

“At least that’s what it seems to be,” Bruce inferred.

Tony’s image then came up on the screen with the visor of his Iron Man helmet up,

“It’s not faberge. There are no visible decorations on it. It’s just a hollowed out egg with black lacquer painted on it. It has absolutely no monetary value despite being in a museum display. But still, whatever that frost guy with the sword was, it somehow came out of that egg after it was smashed by Noki.”

You and Natasha blinked in silence at the unfamiliar term.

“What?” Tony sounded a little disgruntled. “That was genius, I made that up. He looks like Loki but it’s not Loki. Not-Loki. Noki.”

You could just see in your mind Bruce running a hand over his face in exasperation.

As the lighthearted tone of the conversation lingered, you smile suddenly faded.

“Wait. An egg. It came out of an egg…Bruce, was there anything else found in the display?”

“Hmm, let me see…Ah, actually yeah. There seems to be something extra found on the ground that wasn’t listed in the display case.”

“And what was that exactly?” Natasha said as she moved in closer behind you in concern. You felt almost comforted by her body heat.

“It seems that there was also a sewing needle found at the scene.”

Tony let out a snort, “What, Noki darning his socks and left it behind?”

Despite the intended humor in his tone, you didn’t laugh.

As realization struck you and you tuned pale, Natasha placed a hand on your shoulder.

“__________? What is it?”

You looked back at the display screen with a grim look on your face.

“Tony, call the rest of the Avengers here. I know what that frost man is and where it might be now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your continued support and kudos!


	7. The Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your continued kudos and kind comments. They are the things that keep me going!

As the rest of the Avengers gathered into the room and around the debriefing table, you had just finished placing several large books in front. These books seemed particularly well loved with dog-eared pages and notes scribbled throughout the margins. These books were in fact from your own collection and the notes inside were in your handwriting. As the group settled into their chairs, Tony gave a derisive snort and picked up one of the books to read the title.

“Russian Fairy Tales collected by Aleksander Afanasyev? If I had known this was story time I would have brought my naptime blanket. _____________, what’s going on here? You said you had a lead on the abominable frost dude.”

You stood tall despite Tony’s comment, and hoped that you seemed more confident than you felt in front of this gathering of heroes.

“I was just about to explain, Mr. Stark. Now if you please, there’s a paper in front of each of you that -”

“Ms. ____________, excuse me for interrupting,” you nearly jumped at the sound of Captain America’s voice as he held up the paper in question, “but may I ask what exactly does this paragraph on Ko –…Kosh -…Koj-”

“Koschei Bessmertny,” Natasha corrected with what seemed like a mixture of awe and uncertainty in her voice.

“Yes, exactly,” you verified and continued while bringing up an image on Tony’s smart screen. “Koschei Bessmertny also known as Koschei the Immortal or Koschei the Deathless is a prominent figure in many Russian legends including the story of Marya Morevna and Ivan Tsarevitch. He is prominently known to be, as his name states, a supernatural being which can not be killed.”

Hawkeye then raised his hand, “Woah, hold up. Did you just say supernatural? And I don’t know about you but the last time we saw…whatever that was in the museum, it had one of my arrows in its eye socket.”

“Which it then proceeded to pull out and then vanish in a whirlwind,” Bruce added with Thor chiming in afterward.

“Indeed, and despite the valiant efforts of present company, did it not continuously reform itself despite any damage inflicted upon it?”

Tony then spoke up again, “Okay, so, wait. What exactly are we dancing around then? ____________, are you seriously implying that this guy is, what? Magic?”

The room then fell into an uneasy quiet with all eyes on you. You took a deep breath and set your lips into a grim line.

“Yes,” you said, “that is what I think.”

Tony laughingly groaned into his hands while the other Avengers reactions varied from quizzical looks to outright disbelief.

“Ms. ___________,” Steve looked at you with a firmness in his eyes. “I need a little more certainty than a fairy tale that you think may be somehow related. You know as well as I do that each passing moment where we have no idea who or what we’re up against or when and where they may strike next; there is more and more of a likely chance that there will be more situations like what happened in the museum. That there will be a more likely chance that what happened to your friend Ivan will happen again to others.”

You outwardly flinched and clenched your jaw at Ivan’s name, but you let Captain America continue.

“Now what I need is your certainty on this,” he held up his hand to stop Tony from interrupting, “whether this incident is a work of some kind of advanced technology or indeed magic as you say is currently not my concern. What my concern is, is that whether more people can be hurt and put in danger due to this man’s actions.”

You stood silent for a moment with a mixture of emotions roiling through your body along with doubts an anxiety. But in that moment you knew what was true for you.

“Yes, I am certain that these are related. And I am certain that more people will be hurt if we don’t consider these options and not act now on what we know!”

“___________,” Tony leaned back and propped up his feet on the table, “I’m really sorry that you were dragged into this. And I’m really sorry for what happened to your friend, truly I am. But don’t you think this magical immortal Russian winter man thing is a little farfetched? I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that we came to the very real realization that there is alien life out there. In space!”

Bruce quietly shrugged, “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable must be the truth.”

Tony sighed, “Okay, alright there, Sherlock. Can’t believe you of all people are actually going along with this…”

“Were keeping an open mind and a broad perspective about this,” Steve placated while Tony grumbled.

“So, __________,” Clint looked from Natasha back to you, “What exactly do we know about this?”

You let out a relieved breath you hadn’t realized you had been holding and turned back to the touch screen.

“Well, what we do have is very close correlations between the scene at the museum and what has been mentioned in these legends. As you can see Koschei is primarily described as an old, skeletal-like man with control over frigid winds.”

Steve steepled his fingers, “Okay, so we have that similarity down with what we saw and fought against. What else?”

You continued, “Our other correlation is what was found at the scene afterwards. The sewing needle and the egg. Now, though Koschei is considered to be immortal, he is not necessarily unbeatable. It is generally described that Koschei’s death or soul is hidden on an enchanted island, buried under an oak tree, stored in an iron chest, which houses a rabbit-”

Tony loudly groaned again but you ignored him and continued. “Which inside the rabbit is a duck, and in the duck there is an egg, and in the egg there is a needle. Within the eye of the needle Koschei’s death is kept. If the needle or in some cases the egg is destroyed then, Koschei is powerless and vulnerable.”

Tony waved his hands to stop you, “Wait, wait, wait a second. If we’re all going headfirst into this magic stuff…Noki destroyed the egg, left the needle behind for some SHIELD agent to pick up and put into evidence which’ll probably never see the light of day because it’s classified. If breaking the egg destroys Koschei’s powers, why did Koschei only show up in the museum after Noki breaks the egg?”

Then the man named Bucky, who had been calculatingly silent the entire time spoke up, “What if the egg in this instance in some way was keeping Koschei dormant? Like some kind of seal or barrier which locked him away? Then once the egg was broken, Koschei was freed.”

You smiled, “That’s exactly what I think this incident is.”

“Alright then,” Steve seemed to perk up, “Is there anything that may help us find this Koschei before he or Noki strike again?”

You turned and brought up a recent news article onto the screen. “I did some searching online and found that there is a well-known museum in London which is just opening an exhibition on Russian folk traditions and folklore. Very similar to what we were doing at the WYRD museum here. It says that there is going to be a main focus on the superstitions surrounding the figure of Baba Yaga. And in some tales Koschei and Baba Yaga work together to defeat the hero, or alternatively Baba Yaga helps the hero defeat Koschei.”

Tony ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed, “So that’s it then? We’re going to do a hop, skip, and a jump over the Pond to the UK. And then ask them if they’ve found any magic eggs or something?”

Captain America took from his seat and looked around at all attended, “It’s all we have for right now. The London exhibition will open next week. I suggest we all do what we can in getting this plan together and prepare to leave within two day’s time. Thank you, ____________, for your assistance. And I plan on joining you tomorrow at Ivan’s funeral.”

With that, Steve left the room and gradually the rest of the Avengers stood and shuffled out. All that was left then was you and Natasha.

She looked at you up and down, “I said it once and I’ll say it again. You really have no idea what you’re doing.” You flushed in anger and were about to retort when suddenly Natasha took your hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the funeral, __________.” And then she left you alone in the room with only your thoughts and the warm tingling in your hand for company.


	8. The Funeral

The next day you found yourself standing in front of a freshly covered grave plot with the headstone bearing the name of your friend, Ivan. The Russian Orthodox service had passed in a blur to you. Kind words were said; calling Ivan a “hero” for protecting you from a “violent man”.

SHEILD couldn’t very well release to the public the identity of Ivan’s true killer. Or the fact that SHEILD currently had no confirmation on the whereabouts of said murderer. SHIELD had briefed you on their cover story; whereas a thief had broken into the museum and Ivan had protected you from harm. You recited this story to Ivan’s grandparents. The grandparents had raised Ivan from a young age after his own parents had died in a tragic car accident years ago. You looked into their red-rimmed eyes as you told them the story, and not a single tear fell from either of you.

This was the first death of a friend you had ever experienced. Your grief was fresh and raw and you bit your lip so you wouldn’t cry as Ivan’s casket was lowered into the grave. His grandparent’s grief was an old wound newly ripped open. You could hear the grandmother recite snippets of a prayer in Russian, but her voice seemed drained and weary.

As the last shovelful of earth was patted down over the grave it dawned on you that Ivan was their only grandson, and how just like that a family tree was cut down. You turned to them and even tough no words passed between you and them, with your Russian being sparse and their English being broken, the three of you clutched hands. When you parted and pulled away you found a small gift in your hand. Before you could thank them, the grandparents had already turned their backs and rushed away.

You looked more closely at the gift. It was a necklace with a small round pendant hanging from a silver chain. The pendant was a pattern of deep blues with a splash of white and black. You then realized that the pattern was in the form of an eye, with the glass being the bluest blue you had ever seen.

Such a design was common Russia, as this “eye of God” image was said to protect the wearer from all harm. It reminded you of the night Ivan died. Would such a small trinket have protected him from Loki’s spear? You weren’t sure.

You looked up again and saw that Natasha was in front of you with the muted colors of the setting sun shining behind her head. You clutched the necklace tighter in your hand.

“__________?” Captain America stood behind you and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. You turned and looked at him to see the rest of the Avengers standing solemnly behind you in civilian mourning clothes. You let the sound of the question behind your name hang in the air for a moment before you simply nodded.

“Let’s go,” you said and with that you brushed by Natasha into the direction of the Avenger’s Tower. That was all that you could do now. Keep looking on ahead. Keep moving.

As you took a few more steps forward someone grabbed your wrist from behind. You turned with bitter words on your tongue only to find Natasha holding on to you. For a moment you refused to look at anyone, especially the spy. But as the seconds dragged on you finally looked at the rest of the Avengers, afraid of what you would see in their eyes. Annoyance? Or worst of all yet, pity?

But still you looked and what you saw in their eyes were neither. From these hero’s who had seen countless disasters and death and mourning and heartache; you saw glimmerings of understanding and compassion in their eyes.

And in that moment you knew that these heroes weren’t just heroes with superhuman strength, elite training, or even fancy technological gadgets. These people were now your friends.

And as you looked over at Natasha again you couldn’t help but hear a voice niggling in the back of your head, “Friends now, yes. But someday, maybe something other than just friends.”

The car ride back to the Avenger’s Tower was quiet, but not quite as somber as the morning had been. Tony, despite the heavy mood, couldn’t help but show off all the interesting features that he had modified the car with to you. In spite of yourself you couldn’t help a small smile at the bickering between Tony, Bruce and Steve. Well, it was less off them bickering at each other, rather Bruce and Steve were ganging up on Tony.

Tony, the brilliant man that he is if he could say so himself (which he did, repeatedly), strongly suggested that you might as well give Ivan a “proper send off”. Which in Tony’s opinion was drinking together.

Bruce and Steve both chastised him for even thinking of such a thing. But even their tones were a little weary. Maybe the funeral had stirred up too many memories from the past for them.

Once you were all in the Avenger’s Tower you certainly surprised everyone, even Tony, with your admission,

“You know what? I think I could use a drink.”

“Are you sure, _________?”

Steve asked, giving you a look, which was simultaneously one of concern and sternness. He was already starting to feel like an older brother figure to you.

You nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Tony simply shrugged, “Alright then. For you, ________, I’ll get out the good stuff.”

A few minutes later you were all sitting around the living space with nursing a glass of something, which Tony assured, “everyone would love”. You took a sip, studying the taste, but it burned a little as it went down causing you to cough. Bruce patted your back as you cleared your throat. Just like Steve, the man who held so much strength and power within, was also starting to feel a bit like an older brother to you. The two of them sat to either side of you with Bucky next to Steve and Tony next to Bruce. Clint and Natasha sat as a pair facing you with Thor a little to the side.

“I’m alright, thanks,” you gave a little smile, “It hasn’t been that long since I went to college.”

Your words seemed to unravel any tension lingering within the group since Ivan’s funeral. With that Tony launched into an extravagant story, which you smiled and laughed at all the appropriate moments. Then a few sips later Clint started spinning a tale in competition, which you were pretty sure was more made up than actual truth. But in time you were all laughing and a drink later Thor started into a story himself. Ever so slowly the knotted pit in your gut slowly unwound.

A few more drinks in you were certainly staring to feel a little tipsy. Being super soldiers, you already knew that Steve and Bucky would barely get drunk even if they had drank all of Tony’s liquor bar so those two were fine. Tony was fine even if he was snickering a little too hard at Thor not getting yet another joke. Thor was, well, Thor. Bruce was looking a smidge flushed, but at least it wasn’t green.

Another glass in and your vision blurred as you yawned.

“Looks like that’s the signal that __________ should get to bed,” Clint smirked as he stood with a barely noticeable wobble to his stance.

You jokingly frowned, “What? Don’t treat me like a child here. I can handle myself.” You yawned again, barely covering your mouth with your hand.

Steve smiled as he stood, “I think it’s time we all get to bed. We have a lot of preparation to get done tomorrow for the Baba Yaga exhibit in London in a few days.”

With that, the team broke up in to small pairs. Tony went off with Bruce to the lab to just double-check some info and calculations. Steve went off with Bucky to talk strategy and logistics. Clint went off with Thor to explain a certain nuance to a joke that the Norse man just didn’t get. Which left you and Natasha to walk back to your respective rooms together.

The both of you walked together in the dim lighting through the hall side by side. No quite touching, but you could just feel the heat of her body radiating off. When the both of you got to the door of your bedroom, your hands fumbled a little with swiping the security card. It was nice that Tony had all these protections in place for your individual privacy, but in this moment it was annoyingly embarrassing. Especially in front of Natasha.

Suddenly, Natasha’s warm hand covered your own which made you stand still as she guided you through the card swipe. When the door unlocked and opened she still didn’t let go of your hand as she led you into your own room. Her hand was so warm and comforting and you felt a new and different sensation tingling in your stomach. Natasha slowly led you over to your vanity mirror and you saw your reflection. The spy’s back was to the mirror but you could see your flushed face clearly. Your eyes were half lidded and your lips were slightly agape.

You stiffened in surprise when Natasha placed her arms behind your neck and leaned her face in close to yours. You gave a quiet gasp, but her face sailed smoothly past your lips and near your ear. An unfamiliar chill weighed itself down on your neck as she just as quietly pulled away.

As she pulled away Natasha simply whispered, “Goodnight, ________.” And before you could process anything else, the spy was already closing the door behind her.

The chill around your neck stayed however and as you looked down to it, you realized that it was the necklace with the eye pendant that Ivan’s grandparents had given you. You touched it and thought back to Natasha’s warmth so close to yours, yet still so far away. Then, you changed your clothes and crawled into bed. Your sleep for once was uninterrupted that night and blissfully dreamless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you all! Thank you so much for sticking with me!


	9. Over the Pond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of nothing happens in the chapter and I am so sorry.  
> Kind of heavy on descriptions and very little dialogue.  
> Hopefully the end will make you smile a little???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is late, and short, and really not my best work, but goddamn am I trying!
> 
> Much love and thank you's to everyone who've been sticking with me so far.

The next few days leading up to the mission for the Baba Yaga exhibit passed by rather quickly. During that time you delved yourself into more research on the subject of numerous different Russian folk tales that in some way could have been related to Baba Yaga or Koschei the Deathless. Soon your head was dancing with images of frigid winters and the sparkling, golden opulence of the czars.

After one long afternoon of research, Clint had suddenly showed up in your workspace. You had been so intent on your books that you hadn’t even heard him come in. Though, if Tony’s stories were to be believed, Clint had a way with ceiling vents that even Jarvis had difficulty tracking.

Clint had actually pushed aside your books, led you down to one of the training rooms, and taught you how to properly hold a gun. The following day, he had you neglect your research entirely and showed you how to clean a gun and take it apart. The day after that he showed you how to disarm someone holding a gun. It wasn’t until the day before the mission that he actually let you shoot a paper target.

By that time word had gotten around the tower as to what the two of you were up to. Of course Tony made a spectacle of it and brought popcorn for himself, which he mostly used to throw kernels at Steve’s back. But, despite Tony’s clowning, the Avenger’s had all gathered in the training room to watch as a nervous museum tour guide fired her first gun.

Of course to first shot was way off target.

But true to form, you tried again. And again. And again. After a few more shots rang out with very few even improving, Tony politely declared that he had some more work to do and dragged Bruce after him. Not too long after Thor left as well, and then Steve and Bucky left. You were then left with Clint and Natasha, who once again seemed to be communicating only with their eyes. After a few more tries, Clint declared that it was time to take a break. You vocally disagreed, but despite your determination you knew that you had reached your limit. If you pushed yourself further, you would be far too tired to do any good tomorrow. You just had to admit to yourself, that among super soldiers and prodigy spies, you would never be able to touch them.

After you broke down the gun and cleaned it, Clint gave you a quirked smile and ruffled your hair.

“You did good, kid.” He chuckled as you tried to bat his hand away. A little of the self-disappointment that had settled in your chest lifted. Natasha leaned elegantly against the doorframe as the two of you walked over. The look on her face was a unreadable to you, but when you reached her she took a moment to fix your hair from Clint’s mussing. And with that you were breathless again. How could someone so beautiful and deadly be so gentle with you? Before you could ponder this further, the two of them started walking down the hall. They paused long enough for you to catch up between them and the three of you walked in tandem. It was almost comforting, being between them. Clint had definitely become a mentor/older brother to you.

But Natasha…you weren’t sure how to define her.

She was always so elusive. Untouchable. How could someone like you ever catch the eye of the Black Widow? But then you remembered the night of Ivan’s funeral and how she had leaned in so close. You still were wearing the necklace.

Then the day came for the Avengers to make their flight over to London. Tony opted to stay behind and “hold down the fort” as it were with Bucky, the Falcon, and War Machine; and that “he preferred flying in style”. The time in the Avengers jet seemed to pass so slowly. Between going through the mission plan on the data pad and fiddling with the eye pendant on the necklace, you cast a few glances at the back of Natasha’s head as she piloted. Your musings were interrupted, surprisingly enough, by Thor. Throughout the time you had spent with the Avengers, to you he seemed the least approachable. Sure, he was friendly and boisterous to a fault. But with him being a hulking mass of deified alien, which seemed precariously similar in situation to what this whole Koschei the Deathless, you still weren’t entirely comfortable around him.

“___________,” he leaned conspiratorially towards you in a voice which was quiet for Thor but still rather audible to the rest of the team. “Despite your smallness and limited fighting skill, you have quite proven yourself to be in possession of a warrior spirit.” You blinked owlishly as the Norse man, completely unsure of how to respond to such an admission. Oblivious to your confusion, Thor continued, “I saw your cunning in the video which depicted the fight at the museum. And I have seen how you have grown as a fighter under the training of our hawk-eyed friend.”

“Uh, yeah,” you hesitantly replied, “Clint’s been great. He’s really patient with me. Makes sure I really understand things.”

Thor placed his warm hand on your shoulder, the meaty weight of it was heavy. He smiled, “Your lover will rest easy knowing how well welcomed and respected you’ve become among friends.”

“That’s nice of you, Thor, thank – Wait, _what lover_?!” the words spilled incredulously from your mouth as your eyes skittered from the back of Natasha’s head and back to Thor’s face.

The blonde man in question seemed uncharacteristically abashed and embarrassed.

“Forgive me, ___________. I had just assumed that you and the museum guard were…”

For the first time since the funeral, the reference to Ivan didn’t bring bitterness to your heart. In fact, you started laughing.

“No, no. Uh, Ivan an I…we weren’t…I’m not…uh…attracted to men,” you managed to say between giggles.

A glint of understanding entered Thor’s eyes. “Ah. You Midgardians are generally closed lipped when it comes to questions as such. On Asgard such a thing is considered personal but not so much as shameful to speak about. At least as it seems to me.”

From somewhere in the back of the jet Bruce called out, “Stark owes you big money, Rogers!”

Steve laughed, “I’ll be sure to remind him once we get back to the States.”

All of the Avengers on the jet had a smile on their face and despite being confused and mildly annoyed with the lot of them, you couldn’t help but smile too.


	10. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to roll along. Finally!

“Kiss me.”

The simple, breathy pairing of words sent a riot of tingles through your body.

Natasha leaned in closer and pressed her lips lightly against the shell of your ear.  
“__________, kiss me.” She enforced those words with a firmness in her voice and in the caress of her fingers that trailed down your collar bone to the eye pendant resting at the dip of your neck.

You felt hot. No, you felt chilled. No, you felt a dizzying mix of a stirring flush and shivers. She pulled away just far enough that you could look into her winter blue eyes. There was a magic in those eyes and you couldn’t help but let yourself fall under their enchantment.

For a brief moment before you leaned in, you wondered if only you had known earlier that morning you’d be kissing the wonderful and infamous Russian spy, the Black Widow. Well, if you had known then, it wouldn’t have been such a surprise now would it?

But all such thoughts vanished from your mind as her lips touched yours and you gave into desire.

…Earlier That Day…

You still couldn’t believe that you were in London.

London!

One of the biggest and more historically interesting hubs of the world!

There was so much history to the place it bled into all aspects of daily life and activity and you had only been there with the Avengers for a day. Famous authors, poets, playwrights, and characters have stalked these London streets long before the Statue of Liberty was even a twinkling of an idea!

No bad for a museum nerd from Manhattan if you did say so yourself.

You looked over at Captain America, no, Steve, as you were commonly reminded to call him. (Another nerdy kid from Manhattan you remembered, too.) Well, especially now since you and the Avengers were technically “undercover” for your research on the Baba Yaga museum exhibit.

The day before, you and the rest of the Avengers had landed the jet in a location unfamiliar to you, just far enough away from London to not attract any notice. You figured one of the Avengers had pulled some strings to make sure that your entry onto foreign soil went smoothly. You suspected Tony. With his kind of money it would certainly stuff some mouths closed at least for a little while. If you and the rest of them seemed inconspicuous that is.

The Avengers may save the world every day, but they were particularly American heroes. There was always a chance some malcontent might see the fact of Avengers leaving the States as an opportunity. Thus the splitting of the group for now.

Here in London, there was you, Steve, Bruce, Clint, Natasha, and Thor. You were all there for your various skills or intentions with the Baba Yaga exhibit and the threat of Noki. (You could tell that Tony was thrilled that the nickname stuck as you communicated with him throughout the day over cell phone. Or “mobile” as the locals called it.) You and Natasha were here for both of your expertise on Russian culture as it were. Steve and Clint were mostly the assumed leaders and muscle as well as sharp eye respectively. Bruce was there to assist in further figuring out if there was some kind of advanced technology involved with this Koschei the Deathless rather than magic. And if need be he was also the reluctant muscle with The Other Guy, if Koschei did in fact appear. And Thor was there, still in an attempt to clear Loki’s name and much as his brother’s guilt could be cleared.

Which on Clint’s account wasn’t by much.

You were all currently gathered in a café located near the London museum that was set to open the Baba Yaga exhibit to the public. All around the area and up the street there were signs and banners proclaiming the exhibit as an attraction more than a learning experience.

“Baba Yaga: Goddess, Witch, Monster!” “Come to the museum and see the exhibit to experience the dark magic of this Russian mystery!” “You’ll be spell-bound by an artists rendition of Baba Yaga’s life size mortar and pestle!”

The entire advertisement stunk of a museum’s desperate attempt to intrigue newcomers and the youth of the technological generation. Interest in the mystery of the exotic, the dark occult, and the like had recently been on the rise with the popularity of vampire and werewolf fiction. But to you, from the perspective f a museum employee, this presentation was just sad. Even still, you couldn’t help but notice the similarity between the London exhibit and the one in New York.

You let yourself mull over the brief storm cloud of thoughts on Ivan’s death, and then, for the sake of the Avengers’ mission, you let it go.

“So,” Clint spoke up after adjusting his hearing aids to the noise of the café, “What’s our angle?”

You all looked at Steve who in turn met your gaze with a steady look and a wry hint of a smile. It took you all a moment to realize that he was in fact only holding eye contact with you. Your line of sight briefly flitted over to Natasha before returning back to the Captain’s. It was then you realized the implication of his look and took a fortifying breath.

“Me?” you squeaked out while pointing a finger at yourself.

The smile on Steve’s face became a little more apparent while at the same time a frown marred Natasha’s.

“You’ve repeatedly proven yourself that you have expertise in this field,” Steve spoke slowly and methodically. “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t use your knowledge, not to mention your employment, as a clever story to get us access into the scenes behind the exhibit.”

“Besides the fact that, I don’t know, she could be skewered by a demonic ice man?” the fierce heat behind Natasha’s words caught you by surprise.

“____________ isn’t completely helpless. Clint has seen to that,” Steve rebutted. The agitation slid from the redhead’s body language if only for the moment as he huffed and crossed her arms.

Bruce further defused the situation; “The exhibit will open to the public tomorrow afternoon, but tonight there is an opening party being held at the space tonight. We were hoping to use __________ as a distraction. Simply asking questions and the like to security, the other employees, and the head curator if necessary. Just a minor diversion tactic while the rest of us inspect the exhibit to see if there’s any relation between Baba Yaga and Koschei.”

“Never fear, ___________.” Thor chose that moment to butt in, “I’ll be by your side the entire night as an escort in this clever ruse.”

“More like another distraction as arm candy,” you could have sworn you heard Natasha grumble under her breath, but no one commented on the remark.

Steve stated, “Tony has already pulled some strings regarding our aliases on the museum’s guest list tonight. If all goes smoothly let’s hope we’ll figure this all out and get back to the States as soon as we can.”

“And when does it ever go smoothly,” this remark by Natasha was purposely audible to the others as she abruptly stood from her seat at the café table and stalked off towards the nearby hotel that the Avengers were staying at.

“Hey!” Steve rose and followed her down the street until they were out of your sightline in the café.

You looked over at Bruce and Clint in befuddlement.

“It is unlike the Widow to lose her temper so,” Thor seemed as confused as you were.

Bruce interjected, “I don’t think that it’s her temper she’s losing. She’s not angry about the mission per say…it’s something else.”

Clint took that moment to take a large, strategic gulp from his steaming cup of coffee.

Thor continued, “Well, my friend, you seem to know the intricacies of anger best. Tell me, ___________, what do you think ails our comrade?”

You worried your bottom lip between your teeth for a moment before you answered with a muddle of anxiety and hope in your gut, “I don’t know, Thor. I honestly don’t know.”

Later that night at the museum party you arrived with Thor by your side. Both of you were dressed in clothes that Tony had prepared in advance for the event. You were a little curious as to how the man had known all of your measurements for the strapless dress you were in. But that was a question for another time.  
At the moment you felt rather fancy and the color of the dress complemented your eyes and skin tone nicely. With the sweeping looks of admiration and appraisal from other partiers you could almost just forget this was an Avengers mission.  
Almost.

The arrival and location of your fellow Avengers was kept a secret from you (“Just as a precaution,” Steve had said.). And you couldn’t help but search the crowd for a familiar flash of red hair. Find no such familiarity, you sighed and turned your attention back to the mission at hand. You, with Thor always near at arms length, flitted about the museum like a social butterfly. Despite often feeling out of depth among social gatherings, for the most part these were your kind of people.

Back and forth you went to garner the attention of the event planners and exhibitors to glean what information you could about Baba Yaga. You held your own in many discussions whether about the historical lineage of the Tsars ending with the tragedy of the Romanov family, the stark frigidity of some feudalistic Russian folktales, or about the enigma that was Baba Yaga herself. You were even recommended a fictional book called “Deathless” written by some author named Valente when you brought up Baba Yaga’s relation to Koschei the Deathless.

Though no matter how you subtly pried or conjectured, no one there could think of any possible link between the two except within the realm of fairy tales. You couldn’t even bring up the event at your own museum because SHIELD had been so thorough in covering it up. And at a few moments you couldn’t help but think how Ivan would have loved such an event celebrating history and culture.

It was only midway through the night of the party and you were already feeling the frustration of seemingly getting nowhere. Thor was within your line of sight discussing the finer translation of Nordic runes to some museum executive who seemed ecstatic about the blonde man’s insights.  
You hoped that wherever the other Avenger’s were, they were having better luck than you.

With that, you decided to wander a little further back where the crowd of the partygoers thinned. At least to get some semblance of air within the enclosed space however opulent it was. You could feel watching eyes at the back of your neck. You assumed Thor seemed to be taking his position quite seriously.

Suddenly, deeper within one of the shadowed enclaves of the exhibit, you noticed a curious flash of something shimmering. It was a brief and sudden reflection of light and then it was gone. You looked back to where Thor was far off, still engaged in conversation.

For a moment you cursed the fact that you didn’t have any form of radio communication with the other Avengers. Going against your better nature, and towards the thrill that something actually might be happening at this party, you went forwards towards the shimmer.

When you got to the enclave, the noise of the party was dulled to echoing laughter and indistinct chatter. Peering around among the shadows, in disappointment, you found nothing out of the ordinary. And yet your heart still excitedly beat and a nervous tremor built up in your hand as you reached out to press against the solid wall. You were certain that you had seen something.

Suddenly, in whirl of motion and breathless shock you were turned around and pressed against the wall. Within the few seconds that you had flinched your eyes closed, your assailant hand pressed close enough to bodily pin your arms.

“_____________?” your named was hissed.

Just as quickly your assailant pulled away enough to unpin you, but still close enough that your skin tingled from the proximity.  
You opened your eyes in recognition.

“Natasha?!”

The look on the spy’s face was unreadable.

Before, while Clint had been training you in how to fire a gun, he had briefly told you about how Natasha looked when she was “on mission mode”. He said that sometimes she could look different or act different and it was best to stay out of her way when she was like that. You wondered if this was what he was talking about.

She seemed so similar to when you had first met her. Focused, intense, and fierce. Her blue eyes seemed to bore into you, calculating. In just a quick sweep of her gaze, in that moment you felt like she knew everything about you.

“Nat, what are you-?”  
The Black Widow quickly shushed your whispered question with the simple motion of her finger against your lips.

You felt yourself shiver before you even knew it was happening. You were suddenly so conscious of how close the two of you were. Slow and methodical, Natasha rested her hands on your bare shoulders, gentle and almost hesitant. You heard the distant strain of classical music being played from the far background of the party and in a subconscious motion placed your hands at her waist. To the faint tune you twirled in an embrace one, then twice. Then Natasha was the one with her back against the wall and all of a sudden you could barely catch your breath.

She was just gorgeous. You stared at her, drinking in the sight. She too was wearing a dress that complemented her nicely, though sleeker than yours.  
Her eyes were still unreadable to you, even as she leaned close in and her grip fluttered.

“Kiss me.” She said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead yet!


	11. The Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that it's short and rushed and I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense. I have no beta and my brain is fried by finals.  
> Good news is, I graduate from college tomorrow!

Natasha’s lips were soft as they pressed against yours in a kiss. In a feverish daze you wondered how a woman who had exchanged such sharp words with you when you two had first met could have lips so soft. You breathed in slowly through your nose as you both pulled away, just for a moment. Despite the soft languidness of the kiss, your heart was beating so rapidly that you felt as if you would tremble into pieces.

“N- Nat…” you stuttered, unable to finish as the redheaded spy leaned in once more. The ghost of her breath whispered along the side of your neck as she nosed her way down to your collarbone. She murmured something in Russian against your skin, but the translation was lost to you. You could barely think coherently in English, let alone another foreign language.

You moved your hands to capture both sides of Natasha’s face and draw her back up so you were eye to eye. You wanted to look at her. Truly look at her and savor the moment.

Despite the euphoria you felt at finally being able to express your affection to the Black Widow, something niggled at the back of your mind. It told you to look her in the eye even though you weren’t sure what you were looking for. Your rational mind whispered that something wasn’t right about this situation. At the same time the rest of you just wanted to kiss Natasha again.

You stamped that desire down and willed the both of your eyes to meet.  
Natasha’s face was impassive, the stoic façade such a contrast the kiss you had shared only moments ago. The look doused the flame of desire that had settled in your stomach. She looked at you but it was as if she was looking right through you. As of the kiss that you had so be waiting for had meant nothing to her.  
Then you heard the garbled noise of voices on Natasha’s communicator.

Your brow furrowed in confusion, “What’s…?” Again you were at a loss for words in the presence of the spy.  
Natasha’s voice betrayed no emotion as she answered your unspoken question in a clipped tone, “A distraction was necessary. Generally public displays of affection make people uncomfortable so they turn away. But in the variable of the couple being the same gender there’s a 50% chance that the display would attract attention instead. Barton’s position was about to be compromised.”

She nodded her head in the direction of something behind you. You turned your head and saw that at least 20 people of the hundred that were attending the exhibit were now either openly staring at you both or pointedly attempting to look away.  
You flushed a hot scarlet and stepped away from Natasha as if you had been burned. You looked at her, the side of her lip quirked ever so slightly in the cruel semblance of a smile.

A hard knot formed in your throat as you looked away from her and back at the scene, then back to her again. Your eyes filled with tears. You felt a rush of emotions; betrayal, embarrassment, anger. But most of all it just hurt. It hurt so much.  
Natasha said nothing more. She just stood still, here eyes like twin ice chips.

You realized in that moment that Natasha had known the entire time about your crush on her. She had used that crush as a tactical advantage without any bearing of thought on your emotions. And now people were staring at you like you were some kind of strange, sideshow attraction. And Natasha just looked so…unaffected. Aloof. Unattainable.

Before you could even think about where you were going, your feet were already moving, guiding you further into the depths of the London museum. The museum was large with several sectors bathed in darkness. The exhibit party near the entrance was the main focus of the night. You took several turns into a number of different rooms and corridors before you finally settled behind a large stone object. You hid there, between the object and the wall as you finally let the shuddering tears fall.


	12. Baba

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange old woman shows up and gives cryptic advice. Just who is she?

You weren’t sure how long you had been sitting there, hiding while choking back quiet sobs. Slowly but surely you became more aware of the uncomfortable cramp in your side from being hunched over in such an awkward position. You wiped away a few tears from your face and pressed your hand against the stone exhibit to get up out of your impromptu sanctuary. You leaned against the comforting chill of the stone for a moment, your face still heated and flushed from crying.

You took a fortifying breath and moved out into the rest of the room. The room itself was dim, far from the main lights of the party. You couldn’t even hear the echoes of voices or music from the opening celebration. 

“Ah, what pretty tears fall from such a pretty face.”

You whirled around to the sound of the voice behind you. Between you and the stone exhibit stood an elderly woman. She was dressed in simple, traditional Russian garb and had a wizened, wrinkled face with thin wisps of white hair pulled tightly into a bun. She smiled so kindly at you and she looked so completely at home among the Russian exhibit. You gave a watery smile in response, assuming that she was a museum tour guide. You thought, she must be a guide brought in from Russia, her accent was thick with the heaviness of the language. Yes, if that was so then she was kind of like you. You were a tour guide, or at least you had been, before…God, that seemed like such a long time ago…before everything that had happened. Before, Natasha.

You tried to apologize for your tears to her, but at the thought of the red headed woman the tears started fresh again.

“Now, now.” The elderly woman walked towards you and to your surprise, offered you a quaint, cloth handkerchief. “There is a saying, there is no use in sorrow that can’t be helped. I believe you Americans have a similar one about spilled milk.”

You forced out a soft chuckle at her words as you softly dabbed at the tears on your cheeks.

“Thank you,” you said as you handed the handkerchief back to her, but she shook her head, indicating that you could keep it.

Your breathing had calmed and tears stopped, and you felt the weight of emotional exhaustion mixed with jetlag take its toll on you. Nearby there was a bench for museum visitors to rest on, you and the elderly woman trailed over to it and you sunk down into the seat.

As you two sat in comfortable silence you realized that the stone exhibit was actually what seemed to be a large bowl. Large enough that it could surely fit someone your grown height and size. What a strange object to be in the museum.

You glanced down at the elderly woman; she was shorter than you with old age stealing the strength of her bones she was ever so slightly hunched over. The nameless woman simply continued to kindly smile at you and absently patted at your hand.

“Such a pretty girl to be crying over such an ugly trick.”

You started at her words; a cold chill ran down your spine.

“W-what?”

How? Could there have been some way she had known? Had she somehow seen you and Natasha kissing?

The elderly woman’s wise old eyes bore into yours, their bright blue striking.

“You had best be careful, child. There are some fates that can not be avoided. Though I see you have someone looking out for you.”  
Her gaze pointedly went to the eye pendant around your neck. You looked down to the necklace and lightly touched it.

“I don’t understand. What - ?”

When you looked up, the space where the old woman had been sitting was empty. The only evidence that she had been there at all was the handkerchief clutched in your trembling fist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Thank you so much for sticking with me! I may have graduated, but I've been super busy with trying to find a job. The economy around here stinks for people in my field and I'm struggling right now. I need all the well wishes and luck I can get!


	13. The Handkerchief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a really, really short chapter on a handkerchief and a cliffhanger, but look, I updated!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so short and I am both awful and full of awe that you all have stuck with me for this long.
> 
> Thank you all so much for the kudos, comments, etc. They are much appreciated and adored.

You sat there for a stunned moment, blinking rapidly in confusion. Your mind whirled while trying to make sense of what you were seeing. Or, well, not seeing.

 

Where had that old woman gone? She couldn’t have just disappeared! Yet the stark reality seemed that was exactly what had happened. She wasn’t a figment of your imagination, you knew that much. You felt anchored by the physical confirmation of the handkerchief.

 

Turning it over and unfolding it in your hands you intently studied the square cloth that the elderly woman had left behind. Upon closer inspection you realized that the simple seeming handkerchief was actually elaborately and finely embroidered. The detail was sharp and the threads were so fine that you barely felt them when you had wiped your tears away. You wondered if the mysterious Russian woman had made it herself, the level of skill was astounding.

 

Within the center of the handkerchief was a fantastic bird with long plumes that reminded you a bit of a peacock. But who would embroider an orange-red peacock onto a handkerchief?

 

It took you a second longer to realize that the color of the embroidery represented the flickering tongues and tendrils of flame. This was no simple peacock, but The Firebird common in many Russian legends!

 

Overwhelmed by a sudden chill, you shuddered as a startling correlation came to you. The Russian Firebird most often appeared in tales featuring Koschei the Deathless.

 

You shivered again but this time it was from an actual chill of the wind. Had the air temperature just dropped a few degrees or was it just your mind playing tricks on you?

 

“____________!”

 

You jumped from your seat at the sudden frantic call of your name somewhere behind you. You turned and found none other than Thor barreling down the darkened hall with hammer in hand and battle armor on. Upon further study you only had a moment to notice that Thor’s armor in question had a thin layer of frost on it.

 

“The being who is not my brother is here! You must run and hide, quickly!”

 

The dreaded sentence was barely fully out of his mouth before you nodded and quickly skidded over to your previous hiding spot behind the enormous stone bowl. In that moment in your mind you cursed at both Steve and Clint. What good was having training in using a gun if they wouldn’t allow you to have one!

 

You overheard Thor talking into his communicator.

 

“Clint I found her. It seems that the frost creature has grown stronger in its absence. We must--”

 

With that his words were cut off in a swirl of sudden violence that sent Thor careening into wall and trough to the next room.

 

It was then that you were left alone and weaponless in a frigid room with Koschei the Deathless.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look! I updated!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone and your continued kudos and comments!! Between my last update and now I've finally found a job, though its left me with a little less free time. But things are going well I think and I'm excited to be back!

You trembled behind the stone exhibit in a mixture of fear and because of the lowering temperature. Had Koschei seen you? The ice man had been there long enough to surprise and get through Thor’s defenses so quickly. What if Koschei had seen you? You were completely weaponless, powerless. Without thinking, your hand came up to clutch at the eye pendant around your neck that Ivan’s grandparents had given you. Please, please; don’t let Koschei see me. Don’t let Koschei see me. Don’t let Koschei see me.

You flinched at the sound of Koschei’s voice, it was like the low grumble of ice grating on ice. He was speaking in Russian and you could pick up a few familiar words but other than that your mind was in a haze of fear. You tried to control your breath as to make as little sound as possible.

A few more moments passed and then you heard the sound of footsteps. You could still hear the sound of Koschei grumbling to himself a little further off, so it wasn’t him. Was it Thor? For a second a wave of relief washed over you. Wait, no. These footsteps sounded nothing like the Norse man’s gait and had no sense of urgency to them. If it wasn’t Thor or any of the other Avengers rushing to rescue you…

Your heart practically seized in your chest when it dawned on you. You were now alone in a room with not only Koschei but also the being who was masquerading as Loki.

To confirm your, fear you heard the being’s voice ring out through the exhibit. “Now, now. There’s no sense in avoiding me. Why don’t you show yourself and make this easier on the both of us?”

You stuttered out a shaky breath of shock. He knew you were there. You closed your eyes and clutched the pendant tighter as you tried to make a decision. You could stay there behind the exhibit and try to delay as long as you could to buy some time for the Avengers to show up. Or you could reveal yourself and attempt to talk to Noki. Even though the very thought of even looking at Ivan’s murderer made your stomach sick, you knew that you could better stall for time by distracting him with chatter. And if you knew anything else, it was that whoever this being was, they certainly liked to talk.

Just as you had made your decision to meet this situation head on and were slowly shuffling to peer around the edge, a new voice rang out through the exhibit.

“I wasn’t avoiding you. I was simply avoiding your stench. You smell like death as always. Why don’t you show your true self and make this easier on both of us?”

This new voice sounded slightly familiar, but…wait!

You were able to just peer a little further around the corner without fully revealing yourself to get a better view.

Ahead of you were both Koschei and Noki, but despite looking towards your general direction, it seemed like neither of them saw you. Both of their attention was strictly focused on the figure who was standing like a guardian right in front of the stone bowl exhibit. Your breath caught in your throat, it was the old woman from earlier!

What was she doing! How did she get back here again so quickly and quietly?

The frail looking old woman stood with a kind of strange strength about her as you continued to watch.

“As you request, my old friend,” Noki said with a sly grin and with that the lights in the exhibit began to dim and flicker. The darkness and shadows of the space deepened and the ancient relics and exhibits gained an eerie air. The entire room was rapidly engulfed in darkness for a haunting moment, and then the electric lights were back on. Where Noki had once been standing, darkly illuminated in their stead was woman. The woman’s skin was unnaturally pallid, and snake-like writhing shadows clung to her form as a trailing dress.

She sighed in relief like she had just stretched after being in a cramped position for a long time.

“Don’t you feel better now?” the elderly woman’s voice was falsely saccharine sweet as she addressed the other.

“Much better,” she replied with a smile.

“Why do you insist on speaking in a way other than our mother tongue?” Koschei broke the strange atmosphere with his heavy accent and grinding voice.

The old woman gave Koschei a glare, “It is good to see you too, my brother.”

Koschei continued to icily growl and grumble.

She then addressed the shadow woman, “Now, Cherno. I know what you are going to offer. And we both know what my response is.”

The woman, Cherno, replied simply with a grim smile.

“Then,” Koschei stepped forward and his icicle sword materialized in his hand, “you know what I must do, my sister.” He seemed almost…reluctant.

You were still behind the exhibit, watching this all unfold. You were still trying to make sense out of everything that had suddenly been revealed. But before you could connect the pieces together, Koschei rapidly approached the elder woman near you. He was going to attack her! No. You couldn’t let that happen. You weren’t going to let anyone else die.

And then before you knew it, your body had instinctively moved itself to protect her. You tensed, your eyes closed and expecting a blow as you used your body as a shield. A moment passed, and not even a cold breeze struck you. You cautiously opened your eyes.

Time had frozen.

Koschei’s sword was in mid arc about to come crashing down upon your head. Out of the corner of your eye, in the far room, you saw Thor. He was finally back to his feet with Mjolnir extended from his hand on its way towards Koschei. You were jolted out of your observation from a voice behind you.

“You have a good and pure heart, pretty one.”

You turned and saw the old woman looking up at you with a mysterious smile.

“Maybe,” she continued, “there will someday be someone worthy of loving such a heart.”

Her words made little sense to you and your voice trembled as you asked, “J-just who are you?”

She just smiled all the more and then beckoned you to move a little further to the left. You did so, and just as soon as you were in place, time resumed itself.

Koschei, with nothing in front of him to attack, overextended his reach and with that momentum his head careened into the stone bowl exhibit. His howl of pain a whip of icy wind was almost deafening.

In then next few rapidly passing moments, the rest of the Avengers showed up by Thor’s side. The woman, Cherno, once again had a grim look to her face as she backed away from the fight. Koschei followed her lead and within a blurring whirlwind of think snow the pair had vanished from the museum. The Avengers themselves, only looked a little worse for wear and visibly relaxed as the snow peacefully settled. You collapsed in relief in the light powder of snow on the floor next the to old woman. You looked up at her, your mind still tried to make sense of the situation. If she, this old woman, was Koschei’s sister; then….

As if she noticed the realization in in your mind, she looked back down at you and leaned over to gandmotherly kiss your forehead. As she pulled away she said, “You, __________, may call me Baba.” And with that, once again, she vanished.


	15. Red Ledgers and Rose Colored Glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look! It's so short! And so sad!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, I updated a little bit!
> 
> Things have been going okay with work, and, as it turns out, I'm going back to college to get my Master's Degree!
> 
> Many, many thanks and hugs and well wishes to everyone who has read, commented, kudos, or supported me in any way thus far. You all make my day brighter.
> 
> And if any of you ever want to contact me a little more directly, I'm on Tumblr!  
> www.uminotenshi.tumblr.com

“So, let me get this straight…” Tony sighed as he wearily rubbed at the ever deepening creases between his brows.

“This Russian Baba whatever museum exhibit was actually a real lead, and Mr. Frosty Koschei showed up with Noki, who in fact turns out to be a weird shadow lady. And they all disappear as quickly as they came with minimal damage to museum property and no reported civilian harm. To top it all off we got a demi-goddess witch who can apparently stop time as well as disappear without a trace, who has taken a totally grandmotherly liking to __________. And all we really have as both evidence and a lead is a freaking handkerchief with a magic bird on it?”

The silence stretched out as Tony and the rest of the Avengers in the United States stared out at you and the other half of the Avengers from the large plasma screen inside the London hotel room you were staying at.

Steve had his arms cross over his chest and pursed his lips in thought just to annoy Tony further, “Yep, that seems to about cover it.”

Tony threw his arms up in the air, “Unbelievable!”

“We can always send you the security clips from the museum,” Clint chimed in.

“You insult me. I already downloaded them directly myself hours ago and reviewed them like five times,” Tony groused.

Bruce stepped forward, “Then you know that what we’re saying is all true despite its improbability. Trust me, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it too.”

“Yeah, yeah. I understand,” Tony dismissed his fellow scientist with a brief wave of his hand.

“Despite these revelations,” Sam, who you knew as The Falcon, commented, “since there are really no further leads, when’s the soonest we can expect you and the rest of the gang back?”

Steve looked back at your sullen face, still mulling over the embroidered piece of cloth in your hands. Ever since the incident at the Baba Yaga exhibit you had drawn further into yourself. You had barely spoken during the debriefing except to only answer direct questions. You avoided the glances of the Avengers and gave Natasha a wide berth. At the moment the two of you were on opposite sides of the room, pointedly ignoring each other.

He turned back to Sam and Tony, “Give us about a day to recoup and we’ll be back at the tower early around 0600 your time.”

They nodded in confirmation and with that the video communication closed, leaving the main room dimmed without its electric glow.

Before another word was spoken you rushed yourself out of the room and to your personal suite. The rest of the Avengers had their own suites as well attaching to the main room. You took care not to slam the door petulantly, like a child. Even though you desperately wanted to. You wanted to scream and curl up into a ball and never stop crying.

The debriefing had brought up all of the emotions all over again even though the incident itself was never mentioned. Not even to playfully remind Tony that he owed Steve from their little secret bet.

With the clothes from the party still on you flopped on the bed and shifted around until you were comfortable.

You were still holding the fire-bird handkerchief in one hand as Baba’s words repeated in your mind, _“You have a good and pure heart, pretty one. Maybe, there will someday be someone worthy of loving such a heart.”_

With your other hand your fingers touched your lips.

_**Natasha** had kissed you. Natasha had **kissed** you. Natasha had kissed **you**. **Natasha had kissed you**._

And to her it had meant absolutely nothing.

Less than nothing.

It had been a trick.

A ploy used as an advantage to distract.

To put you on the spot like a freak of nature.

As something abnormal.

_And still…and still…and still…_

_**You wanted her to kiss you again.** _

But you weren’t good enough. You weren’t good enough for her.

Or in your rose-colored infatuation with the Black Widow you couldn’t see how cruel Natasha really was.

That her infamously red ledger was just another red colored book to your dazzled eyes.

“Love is for children,” you scoffed to yourself.

But that night you quietly cried into your pillow like a child.


	16. Burning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the drama continues...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I know no one appreciates excuses so I'll give none. Life just happens. A lot. And fast.
> 
> I just wanted to say I love you all and kudos and comments/suggestions are much adored. <3

You were burning.

You were burning up.

Deliciously hot tongues of flame licked at your skin.

Somewhere in your mind you knew this wasn’t real. That this was a dream.

But at the moment it didn’t seem to matter as your body hummed with pleasure.

Some shadowed figure pressed against you, achingly close, as wicked lips mapped your neck, collar, shoulder in a blazing trail.

You sighed in bliss. This is what you needed. Someone to hold you. To take care of you so you could just let go. All of the stress and cares melted away with this heat of desire. To be the sole focus of someone’s passion made you dizzy.

But you weren’t a selfish lover. You wanted to touch. To hold and love another in return. If only you could move your hands…

Wait. Why couldn’t you move your hands?

This was a dream. You could do anything you wanted, right?

You tried to picture your shadowy lover, but they stayed veiled in mystery.

In actuality, they seemed…amused, at your attempt to clarify them?

They simply continued their heated onslaught of kisses against your skin, ranging from teasing presses to sharp nips.

You tried to move, to make a sound, something!

Your edging panic bled into the dreamscape, it felt as if someone was pressing their full weight against your chest.

Something was wrong. Something was dreadfully wrong.

Your mystery lover grew harsher, rougher in their touch.

Each grope and bite punctuated with the murmured words, “Mine.”

You didn’t like this anymore. You wanted this to stop.

Stop. Stop. Stop. STOP!

You woke with a pained gasp and sat bolt upright in your bed.

You clutched at your throbbing hand.

Somehow while sleeping you had moved and banged it against the side night table.

As your breathing calmed in gradual bursts, you surveyed your bedroom.

You were back at the Avenger’s tower. It had been three days since the Baba Yaga exhibit in England. It was okay. You were fine.

Yet the phantom sensation of kisses and bites lingered against your skin. You looked in your vanity mirror. Not a single mark or bruise marred your neck. Nothing. Nothing except the necklace that Ivan’s family had given you that rested coldly against your sternum.

Your eyes began to well with tears, but you pushed them back.

This necklace was more than just Ivan now. Now it lingered with your feelings for Natasha. Her beautiful eyes, bright blue. Her breath wrapping around your name in the dark, “__________, kiss me.”

You were disgusted with yourself.

In that fit of loathing you fumbled to unclasp the necklace. Finally, fed up with your trembling fingers, you yanked and the thin chain snapped. The sharp pain at the nape of your neck felt oddly satisfying.

You left the broken necklace at your vanity, and began the dreadful motions of beginning your day.

Another day with the Avengers. Another day with no further leads and no further appearances by any villainous figures, Russian magical legend based or otherwise. Another day feeling like you were a complete failure.

 

Much later that day, you rubbed absently at the spot where the protective evil eye pendant had hung.

After further research without a single revelation into the case, you had grown frustrated and mentally weary.

You know what? You decided. Screw this scene!

There was a pounding in your head as you grabbed your wallet and bag.

Every day so far the Avengers had been walking around on eggshells with you. They had all at different times been going on one mission or another. The only constant presence in the tower had been Tony, but he was usually holed away in his lab. Steve was almost never there due to SHIELD business. Even the Avengers you had slowly been warming up to like Bruce, Sam, and Thor had all but disappeared from your social life. Even Clint who you had grown close seemed to be avoiding you! As for Natasha…well, that didn’t matter right now.

Right now you were getting the hell out of here!

As you rushed out of the tower, you barely noticed the mechanical voice of JARVIS inquiring after you.

Actually, you barely noticed anyone else around on the crowded New York city streets at sunset. You just walked. And then you swiped your metro card and got on a subway. And then…and then you lost track of time.

The monotonous rumble and dim lights lulled you into a slight trance.

When the subway car finally jerked and the conductor declared it the last stop, you got off and beelined for the first bar that came into your sight.

It hadn’t been your original plan to get shitfaced. You had just wanted to get out of the Avengers Tower.

But hell, the night was young and your heart was broken.

Might as well bottoms up, right?

You weren’t a child. You were in your mid-twenties for God’s sakes.

Yet, at this bar that you didn’t even bother to note the name of; you showed your ID, paid for your drinks, and started downing them like they were mother’s milk.

The thing is though, it was so easy to become enraptured with Natasha. So entangled in her web (you drunkenly giggled at that pun later) that the prospect of other people hitting on you was completely foreign now.

So, of course there were quite a few rather interested straight men trying to buy your not straight self a drink. After you turned down the fifth one of the night, you kind of started to feel a little sick.

Was it too much alcohol? Probably. You hadn’t eaten much that day anyway and you were starting to keenly feel the effects. Was it the lingering eyes of the guys trying to get your number? Most definitely.

Suddenly, it was a little too hot by the bar table. You got out of your seat and had to bite the side of your cheek to stave off the nausea. Though, with as much dignity as you could muster you walked (not wobbled, thank God) to the fresh outdoors.

You blinked out at the harsh streetlights under the deep night sky. Of course, there were no stars to be seen. Light pollution drowned them all out. For a moment that thought made you inconsolably sad. As you sniffled you patted around your pockets only to realize you had left your bag and your cell phone at the bar. Now all that you had, as you drew it out of your pocket, was the firebird handkerchief.

Then the dream from the morning came back to you.

Hot flames. Pleasure. Pain. Panic.

You clutched the embroidered fabric tightly in your fist. You were angry. You were scared. You had lost control of your life. And it was all due to the meddling of these…whatever they were; forgotten Russian gods, or aliens, or whatever! And the Avengers. The Avengers were the worst of them all.

They smiled and posed and looked pretty for the news, but they were all just as broken and cowardly and cruel as everyone else.

They could barely even talk to each other, let alone you after the stunt that Natasha had pulled.

Why had she done that? You couldn’t understand it. Maybe Natasha didn’t either…

You hated them. You hated everything. You hated yourself for being so hurt and broken up over Natasha kissing you and then pushing you aside.

With a trembling breath, you turned and gracelessly chucked the handkerchief into the bar alley. It fluttered, innocently and harmlessly onto the damp pavement.

You had half a mind to stomp over to it and grid into it with your foot. But you grit your teeth as another wave of nausea overtook you and you leaned heavily against the brick wall.

“I believe you dropped this.”

You were startled as a voice, closer to you than it should be, spoke out.

You turned from your pitiful position, to the darkness of the alley to face the stranger. Your eyes trailed from the hand that held out the cloth to a pair of dazzling ice blue eyes, and your breath choked in a gasp.

“I-Ivan…?”

**Author's Note:**

> Korochun: also known as Koliada is a pagan Slavic holiday, now more modernly known in relation to refer to the Winter Solstice. With the Winter Solstice being the longest night of the year, the veil between this world and the world of spirits thins.
> 
> Figures that may make an appearance in this fic: Koshchei the Deathless, Baba Yaga, Zmey Gorynych, etc.


End file.
